Critical Currents in Islam Media Roundup (June 5-June 18)

[This is a roundup of news articles and other materials circulating about Islam and reflects a wide variety of opinions and approaches. It does not reflect the views of the Critical Currents in Islam page or of Jadaliyya. You may send your own recommendations for inclusion in each week's roundup to cci@jadaliyya.com by Saturday night of every week.]

June 12-18

"You are Islam's black sheep," RT News
Three hundred Austrian Imams condemn ISIS terrorists: Islamic clerics in Austria have produced a nine-point declaration, calling ISIS terrorists “black sheep” and urging fellow believers to play a greater role in society, days after Austria introduced a burqa ban and compulsory integration courses.Read More

Richard Dawkins slams Islam as ‘most evil religion,’ then Trump for travel ban rhetoric, The Washington Times
Author Richard Dawkins told an audience last week that Islam is the “most evil” religion in the world while scolding President Donald Trump for his anti-terror rhetoric.Read More

Awake for the morning sahur meal, Muslim Londoners were first to help fire victims, residents say, The Daily Sabah
London Muslims, awake in the early dawn for sahur, were amongst the first responders in the West London neighborhood where an apartment building caught fire.Read More

Why Data Science Argues against a Muslim Ban, Scientific American
Rigorous data proves that “common sense” arguments for the Muslim ban are simply wrong.Read More

Trump's 'Muslim ban' dealt new blow by US appeals court, Al-Jazeera
As Trump attempts to get his controversial “Muslim ban” enacted, a US appeals court ruled that the ban violates federal law.Read More

Anti-Sharia rallies around the U.S. denounce Islam while stoking concerns among Muslim groups,Los Angeles Times
Speaking out about what they believe are the ills of Islam, anti-Sharia law activists demonstrated nationwide Saturday, but were met by counter-protesters who assailed their rhetoric as insensitive and demeaning.Read More

Tensions between Muslims and Christians rise in CAR,Al-Jazeera
In the midst of conflict in the Central African Republic, animosity continues to grow between Muslim and Christian communities.Read More

New Study: Islamophobia Common in Catholic Media,Religion Dispatches
Despite the pope’s insistence on a positive outlook on Muslims and their faith, islamophobia often finds a home in American Catholic institutions and media outlets.Read More

Muslim groups in Germany at odds over planned anti-terrorism march,The Guardian
The Nicht Mit Uns – or Not With Us – march has been planned as opposition to violence in the name of Islam, but some groups say it stigmatises Muslims.Read More

Thomas Jefferson’s iftar — and how White House Ramadan celebrations could end under Trump,The Washington Post
In the early days of December 1805, a handful of prominent politicians received formal invitations to join President Thomas Jefferson for a White House dinner... But this gathering, scheduled for 9 December would be slightly different.Read More

What Non-Muslims Need to Know about Ramadan, The Huffington Post
It is time for a primer on this month and all that it entails, so that rather than asking questions about the basics, allies can be prepared and work together to keep Muslims safe and protected.Read More

It isn’t just young people who have turned to Labour. Muslims have too, The Guardian
Muslims seem to have rejected the Tory party in large numbers, according to election analysis. However, given the way it engages with us, it is hardly surprising.Read More

In Germany, a new ‘feminist’ Islam is hoping to make a mark, The Washington Post
Inside the red-brick building that now houses the German capital’s newest and perhaps most unusual mosque, Seyran Ates is staging a feminist revolution of the Muslim faith.
Read More

Terrorism has changed. Blaming Islam is blinding us to the new reality, The Guardian
Today’s terrorists are mostly troubled and isolated young men with a history of violence. Their only intention is to make their attacks—and themselves—matter.Read More

A Short History of U.S. Presidents Explaining Islam to Muslims, The Atlantic
In giving a speech about the religion in Saudi Arabia this weekend, Donald Trump is poised to adopt one of Barack Obama’s errors, and likely to make it worse.Read More

Turkish Islamist push may be to blame for removal of Atatürk inscription at Anzac Cove, The Guardian
Words likening Australia’s dead “Johnnies” to Ottoman “Mehmets” disappear as 1985 Gallipoli monument is restored.Read More

Cologne rally: As many as 10,000 Muslims to protest Islamic extremism,The Independent
As many as ten thousand Muslims are set to protest in a rally against extremism in Cologne on Saturday.Read More

On the recent past, fraught present, and tenuous future of Turkish Muslim civil society,The Immanent Frame
When I set out to conduct the research, I envisioned a panoramic study of a vibrant, emergent field of religious and political action in Turkey, embedded in the institutions and discourses of civil society... At the time, I could not imagine that this climate of political optimism, as well as the very domain of Muslim civil society that I set out to study, would prove to be so evanescent.Read More
Influence-rich Saudis blow through Sunni unity, Al-Monitor
Less than a month after hosting US President Donald Trump and fifty Muslim leaders, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's alliance of Sunni states is in tatters, squandered on a vendetta.Read More

Muslims today face a deep malaise. We must confront it, The Guardian
We have to yank our faith from the darkness of intolerance and the lull of tradition. Suicide bombs must be countered with the promise of moderation.Read More

June 5-11

Trump says he's calling it a 'travel ban,'CNN
President Donald Trump on Monday emphatically referred to his executive order on immigration as a “travel ban” and said his Justice Department should not have submitted a “watered down, politically correct version” to the Supreme Court.Read More

Palestine in Motion,Al JazeeraAl Jazeera meets with Palestinians across the globe to hear their stories.Read More

The end of Nasserism: How the 1967 War opened new space for Islamism in the Arab world, Brookings
The Six-Day War in 1967 was a blow against perceived Arab supremacy, and paved the way for nationalism and Islamism in the Arab world.Read More

What the 1967 War meant for Saudi religious exports, Brookings
Following the Six-Day War, Saudi proselytizers filled the vacuum left by secular Arab nationalism by exporting Wahhabism. Read More

‘Kill them. Kill them all’: GOP congressman calls for war against radical Islamists, Washington Post
Congressman Clay Higgins came under fire for a controversial Facebook post this week where he advocated for violence against radical Islamists.Read More

Imams refuse funeral prayers for 'indefensible' London Bridge attackers,The Guardian
Imams and religious leaders in Britain have refused to conduct traditional funeral rites for the London Bridge attackers, stating that their actions stand at odds with the teachings of Islam.Read More

A Virginia imam said female genital mutilation prevents ‘hypersexuality,’ leading to calls for his dismissal,Washington Post
Congregants of a Virginia mosque reacted angrily to an imam’s support of female genital mutilation, with calls for his dismissal.Read More

No, British Muslims don’t have a special duty to combat extremism,Prospect
British Muslims frequently are called upon to “combat terrorism,” despite the fact that terrorism is a problem that Muslims have no control over.Read More

Will Qatar’s Diplomatic Exile Spark the Next Great War?, Foreign Policy
As Saudi Arabia and a number of Arab countries cut ties with Qatar, will Qatar’s connections to Iran lead to war?Read More

Can Saudi Arabia’s Young Prince Wean the Welfare State?, Foreign Policy
Prince Mohammad bin Salman seeks to reform the Saudi economy and transition it from an oil-dependent welfare state to a modern economy; will he succeed?Read More

If Trump Wants a Fight in the Middle East, Iran Will Give Him One, Foreign Policy
While Rouhani might be a moderate, Trumps inflammatory rhetoric might inflame Iran—and her allies—and push the Middle East to the brink of war. Read More

A terrorism expert on why Trump's anti-Muslim posturing makes us less safe,Vox
In the wake of the recent terror attacks in Manchester and London, it is worth asking: Does Donald Trump’s approach to foreign policy and terrorism make us more or less safe? Read More

Digital Footprints Paint an Eerily Accurate Picture of Europe's Refugees,Gizmodo
Using search data collected by Google, researchers at the Pew Research Center have reconstructed the journeys taken by refugees flowing into Europe from the Middle East. It represents a new way of tracking migration patterns—but the technology could be misused.Read More

Turkey's 'American Idol' of Quran recitation backfires,Al Monitor
This year a new Ramadan show where men compete in reciting the Qur’an has generated strong opposition from Islamist groups.Read More

Ramadan controversy over public eating resurfaces in Jordan,Al Monitor
The Jordanian security forces’ raid on a restaurant serving food in Ramadan on 2 June has sparked debate over whether Jordan is an Islamic state or a “civil state.”Read More

What is fuelling Islamic State's wave of Ramadan violence?, The Guardian
While Muslims all over the world are celebrating Ramadan, security officials in the Middle East and Europe are on high alert. Read More

We will not tackle extremism by stigmatising Muslim citizens, The Guardian
In a time where radical terrorists seek to divide communities, it is important to avoid stigmatising innocent Muslims.Read More

Anti-Muslim hate crimes increase fivefold since London Bridge attacks,The Guardian
The London Bridge attacks have triggered a spike in hate crimes with a significant amount of them being attacks in the street directed at British Muslims.Read More

What is the Shia-Sunni divide?,Religion News
As conflict grows in the Middle East, more and more people are wondering: what is the difference between Shi’i and Sunni Islam?Read More

The Qur’an Illuminated,Marginalia
During one of the most charged elections in American history, an exhibit at the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., served as a much-needed counter to an administration that has shown itself time and time again to be fundamentally anti-Islam.Read More

Led by Islamists, thousands of Moroccans rally in support of northern protests,Reuters
Political unrest and claims of corruption have provoked residents in north Morocco to take to the street alongside the Adl wa-l-Ihsan Party.Read More

Marianne, Under Siege,LA Review of Books
The lure of jihad in France is evaluated through the lens of Gilles Kepel’s new book, Terror in France: The Rise of Jihad in the West, in addition to social conditions like unemployment and poverty.Read More

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